Chapter 2. SharePoint from the User's Perspective
SharePoint Designer includes a broad array of features and functions that make it a powerful web design tool. Yet, one of the key purposes of SharePoint Designer is to enable you not only to "make it look less like SharePoint," but also to leverage and build upon a number of SharePoint's features. But what does that mean? What is SharePoint? It's important to remember that you (or your clients) are implementing SharePoint for a reason. In your efforts to customize its look, you need to be sure you retain its feel — its core capabilities.
In this chapter, you get a feel for what SharePoint is and what it offers the user. Most of the elements described from the user's perspective can be configured to some extent through the web interface. While you will have a much greater capability to customize them in SharePoint Designer, understanding the built-in functionality will give you a better foundation for your construction. This chapter introduces SharePoint's:
Basic structure
Lists and libraries
Web Parts
